Can young creatives save Detroit?
This article published in the New York Times on July 1st comes as rather good news for Detroit. It’s actually the first positive piece of news I’ve come across about this city in months — maybe years.
It seems the creative type has elected Detroit as its newest boom town. According to the article, “downtown Detroit experienced a 59 percent increase in the number of college-educated residents under the age of 35, nearly 30 percent more than two-thirds of the nation’s 51 largest cities.” Artists, designers, entrepreneurs and other types of young professionals have been taking advantage of low real estate prices and the growing number of career opportunities.
This phenomenon transpires in the number of trendy coffee shops and restaurants opening every year, renovated buildings as well as community initiatives being launched. I was particularly impressed by the Detroit Creative Corridor Center, an entrepreneurship hub providing services to new creative businesses.
There seems to be a certain parallel with what New Orleans has been experiencing since Katrina: a surge in creative initiatives and social entrepreneurship. Both cities still have a long way to go, but it seems that in such places that have been badly shaken by deep crisis, the feeling of community lies at the basis of the reconstruction effort. I hope we’ve only seen the beginning of what will be an amazing journey toward a renewed prosperity.
Photo credits: Ian Freimuth, some rights reserved.